Dana's Recognition Day, AY 2018-2019

03 April 2019

When his teacher told Dylan that he'll be going up the stage to receive a medal, he was so happy and he said, "Wow, I'm going to be like Ate Dana!"

Well, it's true because today, Dana did go up the stage and received her very own medal for exemplary performance this school year! :)

We're so proud of you Dana!  Keep up the good work!

Daiso Japan's Dehumidifiers are Effective! :) #DaisoJapanPH

02 September 2016

Daiso Japan's dehumidifiers are effective and it took me a while to test them. We bought our dehumidifiers from Daiso Japan in Robinsons Manila about a month ago.  I told Patrick that we needed to buy one to put inside Stanley (our car) because there was one time when the car seats were covered in mold/mildew spots after continuous rains!  We were happy to find that they were offering a "Buy 2 Take 1 Free" promo on them.  We immediately chose 1 Lavender scent, 1 Citrus scent and 1 Unscented to test all three out :)

Interesting finds at the new Miniso store in Robinsons Manila

25 June 2016

As we walked around Robinsons Manila, we naturally gravitated towards Daiso, our favorite Japanese-brand store.  Even though we didn't have anything to buy, it's comforting to be surrounded by a ton of kawaii and practical stuff :) While there, the kids needed to go to the bathroom and when we went to find one, we ended up seeing the new Miniso store at the 2nd Level of Robinsons Manila (Padre Faura wing).  At that point, Dylan, Dana and I simply couldn't resist and went to check it out =)

After-dinner desserts at Cafe Mary Grace in Robinsons Manila

25 June 2016

After a satisfying early dinner at Erra's Vest Ramen in Malate, we went back to Robinsons Manila because that was where we parked the car.  We went around the mall for a while, trying to walk off a sumptuous meal =)  We weren't aiming for anything in particular but we all came to stop when we reached the Cafe Mary Grace area.  Dylan, Patrick and I have tried their desserts when my friends and I met up one time in Makati.  Now, Dana was with us and we wanted to share the experience with her as well.

Ramen for 100 pesos or less at Erra's Vest Ramen in Malate, Manila

25 June 2016

Today, we received a treat from my cousin Joyce who asked me to take the kids somewhere nice for the day.  Patrick and I decided to go to Erra's Vest Ramen in Malate, Manila as they're known for authentic Japanese ramen for P100 or less.  Since we all love ramen and the price is a great come-on, we all trooped to Erra's Vest Ramen to explore their offerings.

Cute Earrings from N. Cat Philippines at Japan Home Center

05 January 2016

Just wanted to share these cute earrings from N. Cat Philippines that I found when we went to visit the Japan Home Center store in Robinsons Manila where we went to buy Dana's new phone from Smart.

I don't know when they started selling them at this branch but I was pleasantly surprised at the number of choices and how very affordable they were.  In fact, it will be hard for you to decide which one to choose (if you can settle with just one) because there are so many great designs, styles and colors.

The earrings are available at P48, P58 and P88 so I'm sure you can find one that fits your budget.  I think I'm going back for more! :)

Biometrics Registration for the 2016 Elections has ended

Yesterday, as of 9:01 PM, marked the end of the registration period for the 2016 Elections.  What's so important about this registration period compared to the previous ones?  Well, for starters, every eligible voter who wants to vote during the 2016 Elections must have his biometrics information captured and plugged into the Voter Registration System.  Biometrics information, in this case, refers to the photograph, fingerprints and signature of the voter.  What this means is that if you were able to vote before in previous elections but have not updated your records with your biometrics information for the upcoming elections then you will not be able to vote.  The Commission on Elections has established "No Bio, no Boto" as their tagline for the 2016 Elections.

Cousins' Day Out

Something is definitely up when, all of a sudden, you receive a slightly mysterious message from someone that you hardly hear from.  Well, that was the case when I heard from Jericho who messaged me about his concerns about Patrick's nephew, Rhys, who was apparently not being well cared for by his mom (this according to Jericho who was her partner for almost 6 years).  They have now split up but Dimples and Rhys were still living in Jericho's house.

Not to get into all the details because it'll just be too much drama for anyone, there was a family  meeting or you might even say an "intervention", including Stevie and his wife to discuss what's been happening to the boy. Fast forwarding the story, it has then been decided that Rhys will stay with us, the siblings will each contribute financially especially since school will be starting in June, and for starters, Rhys will be spending the night with us just to see how well he gets along with Dana and Dylan, hence the title of the blog post.

So, since we had already planned to watch Kung Fu Panda 2 with the kids, we just brought Rhys with us that same day and he'll be spending the night with us.  It's been a long time since we last saw him.  Frankly, we hardly see him because they don't attend any of the family gatherings, limited as they are.  Here they were on the way to Robinson's Manila.

Here they were, posing while waiting for their pretzels from Auntie Anne's :)

They had a great time at the movie.  After the movie, we went to Max's for dinner.  Rhys ate a lot!

Dana just wanted to show off her earrings :)

So far, it seemed like they were going to get along well together.  Let's wait and see.  We took him back the next day and he had plenty of stories to share with his mom.

Bought some new appliances!

I mentioned in the previous posts that we've been looking at DVD players while shopping at the malls. What I forgot to mention was that we were also looking at television sets and PC's as ours have gotten pretty old. Our TV is almost 15 years old and has been repaired a number of times. The PC, we contemplated on upgrading but there are no available parts left :)

Well, we were all surprised by a little windfall that came our way. One of my aunts, Tita Cora, arrived in Manila last December 11 and with it came a balikbayan box from my grandma for Sharon and myself. She was also the messenger for a bit amount of money from my Grandma and my aunt and uncle in Washington. Needless to say, combined with these and some of Patrick's Christmas bonus, we were able to take advantage of the Christmas sale at Abenson's in Robinson's Ermita.

We got P1000 off the Samsung CT21Z58 that's something like this except that the speakers are hidden but gives absolutely clear sound nonetheless. I love its glossy finish. It even came with a free TV Rack. Patrick purchased the combined Philips DVD and Home Theater System (Philips DVP-3260)which was also on sale for less than P1000. Its got great reviews, can read almost any kind of disc, has karaoke function and a built-in USB drive.With all these purchases, we got an additional P500 discount hahahah Not bad for a day's shopping :)

A satisfying day at the Mall

Yesterday, we trooped to Robinson's Manila to buy Den new pairs of shoes for the 2nd semester in school. "New shoes? Again?!" you ask haha yes, she needs new shoes because her feet are like a bulldozer for some reason and shoes don't last long in them LOL

Fortunately, when we went to Philam we found out that Robinson's Manila was having a sale so we decided to go back for some great bargains. And we did find great stuff, not to mention, getting confused about the whole layout because apparently, the new Adriatico Wing was expanded even more and it was surprising to see so many more shops! :)

Here are the bargains we got:
We went to the children's department because the kids needed new shoes. Dana got a pair of rubber shoes for P250 (down from P700) and Dylan's pair cost only P150!! In a world where shoes cost a minimum of P300 per pair, these were a steal hahahaha

We got Den's two pairs of shoes, for P200 each, a great buy since their regular price was P600 each !! So we bought two pairs and saved P800!! Not bad for a day's work hahahaha

Other items that we bought, though not on sale include light bulbs, an extension cord and a new phone cable. We ate at Karate Kid.. man, I really had a craving for their gyoza and Beef Teriyaki :) We brought home some california maki too :) We also bought a chocolate roll from Goldilocks. Yummy! We were so full from eating at the Karate Kid that we didn't eat dinner at all, except for the cake hahahha

Dinosaurs in Manila!!

September 25, 2008 Yep, you read that right, in Robinson's Manila, there were 9 life-sized, fully-automated robotic dinosaurs from Denmark. We couldn't miss it considering we are all fans of Jurassic Park and it was cheap at just P25 per person. We were coming from Philam that day and Robinson's was just at the back of it. So we decided to go for it! :) and it was fun hahaha The moment we went in, Dylan let out a loud roar at the T-rex that was at the center of the exhibit. People around us were laughing :) Dana on the other hand was scared and didn't want to get near it LOL Lots of moments for picture taking as you can see :)